Refrigeration apparatus



Jan. 8, 1946. w. PEGLOW REFRIGERATION APPARATUS '5 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6, 1943 WITNESSES:

} INVENTOR WALTER PEGLOW.

'ATTQ EY Jan. 8, 1946.- w. PEGLOW 2,392,689

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed Feb. 6, 1945 3 Sheets-:Sheet WITNESSES: I Q INVENTOR g y j 'WALTER PEGLOW.

Patented Jan. 8, 1946 REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Walter Peglow, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 6, 1943, Serial N0. 474,920

(Cl- 1H0) 6 Claims.

My invention relates to a cabinet construction,

such as a refrigerator cabinet or the like, and has for an object to produce improved mechanism for holding a cabinet door open, or for closing such door with minimum of attention and effort on the part of the user,

Another object of my invention is to produce a mechanism of the type set forth which is an extremely simple, durable, and inexpensive construction.

Another object of my invention is to produce a mechanism of the type set forth which ,may be readily incorporated in a cabinet without any interference with the other parts thereof, and one which, except for a single unobtrusive part, is entirely concealed from view,

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel stop for a cabinet door.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line lI-II of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the door in a completely closed position;

Fig. 4 is a section on line IV--IV of Fig. 3, showing details of construction; and,

Figs. 5 and 6 are views similar to Figs. 3 and 2, respectively, showing modified form of the invention,

Referring now to the drawings in detail, numeral it designates a household refrigerator cabinet which is provided with a cooling unit it, shelves i4, drawers it, and an access opening adapted to be closed by a door I 8. The door it is mounted on hinges 20 and is provided with a sealing gasket 22,

The door 18 is provided with a latch mechanism 24, and a frame 26 surrounding the access.

opening is provided with a keeper 28. The latch 24 and keeper 28 are of any well-known, easily engaging type, and are, therefore, not shown nor described in detail.

The access opening ma be closed by manually pushing the door shut, but this practice is I not desirable because the force employed is almost always less than, or in excess of that needed to actuate the latch mechanism, thus necessitating repeated effort, or spilling some of the contents of the refrigerator. To this should be added the fact that, when it is necessary to close the door, the hands of the operator are usually loaded with foodstuffs, thus making it difilcult or inconvenient to immediately close the door. If the door is left open until the operator's hands are free, there is excessive and unwarranted loss of refrigeration. If a spring is used to overcome the difliculty, care must be taken that such spring is relatively weak so as to move the door of the refrigerator to its closing position gently and slowly and with only the amount of force needed to actuate the latch mechanism, A spring not answering these requirements will cause damage to the parts of the cabinet and may cause bodily injury to the user of the refrigerator. In addition, it is desirable to provide means which will, in one-position thereof, hold the door open to permit movement of material into or out of the refrigerator, or the rearrangement of material within the refrigerator.

In order to accomplish the foregoing results and to overcome the above mentioned objections, I have devised improved means which, as will be seen from Figs. 2 and 3, includes a supporting bracket 30 secured in the bottom 32 of the refrigerator, which bracket is disposed horizontally so as to occupy a minimum space and is provided with a flange 34. The supporting bracket 30 is rigidly secured in position in any desired manner (not shown). An arm 38 carries a pin to and is pivoted at 36 to the bracket 30. A. portion 42 of a G-shaped link 43 is pivoted to the pin it, and another portion 44 is pivoted at 46 to the lower portion of the door it. An arm 48,

' which carries a stop 50, is carried by the bracket 3d or is otherwise secured in position. A tension spring 52 is connected at one endthereof to the bracket 30 or other fixed portion of the cabinet structure, and, at the other thereof, the spring '52 is connected to the inner portion 42 of the closing position, until the latch mechanism 24 is engaged by the keeper 28. If it is desired to retain the door in its open position for any length of time,the door is opened to a position for any length of time, the door is opened to a position slightly in excess of degrees so that a line 54 passing through the axes of the pivots 40 and 46 will be on or somewhat beyond dead center,

or to the right of the axis of the hinge ll, as viewed in Fig. 2. In this position, the spring 82 serves to retain the door it in the open position until the door is pushed past dead center to the left. The stop so engages the portion 42 and limits rotation of the link 43 about its pivoted end 40 to limit the movement of the door. The C-shaped link 43 is shaped to clear the gasket 22 Irom the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised a simple mechanism by means of which the door of a refrigerator or other cabinet may be maintained in fully open position by moving very gently and slowly, thus guarding against possible inJury, or possible spilling of material in the cabinet, which might otherwise result from violent slamming of the door.

a stop adapted to engage a portion of said link spaced from said other end, to limit the rotation of said link about said other end, thereby limiting the opening of said door.

2. In a refrigerating cabinet having an access opening and a door for said opening, a hinge connecting said door to said cabinet, said door being movable into first and second open positions, a link pivoted at one end to said doorat a point remote from the axis of said hinge, a spring connected to the other end of said link in a manner .to place said link under tension at all positions of the door and close said door when the same is in said first position and to open said door wider when the door is in said second position, means for guiding the movement of the other end of said link along a fixed path, and a In Figs. 5 and 6, I show a modified form of construction in which the arm 38 is omitted. In this construction, the c-shaped link is somewhat differently shaped and the portion 42 thereof is provided with a pin 4| which engages, or slides in, a slot 45 in the bracket 30. The remaining structure, and the operation "of this modified form are identical with the disclosure of Figs. 1 to 4.

While, in both forms of the invention, I show the apparatus positioned in the bottom panel of a refrigerator cabinet, it may be placed in the top or bottom sill or at any other desired and suitable position, and the portion 44 may engage the bottom or top edge of the door or any other suitable point.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised a simple, automatic, inexpensive and reliable mechanism for gently closing a cabinet door, together with means for retaining the door open as may be desired. It will also be seen that the major portion of the mechanism is concealed from view so that it does not detract from the appearance of the refrigerator.

While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a refrigerator cabinet having an access opening and a door for closing said opening, a hinge for connecting said door to said cabinet, said door being movable into first and second open positions, a link pivoted at one end to said door at a point remote from the axis of said hinge and movable upon opening and closing of said door, a tension spring connected to the other stop adapted to engage said link for limiting the opening of said door beyond a predetermined position.

3. In a refrigerating cabinet having an access opening, a door for said opening, a hinge connecting said door to said cabinet, a first link pivoted at one end to said door at a point remote from said hinge, a second link pivoted at one end to the other end of said first link and at its other end to said cabinet, said two links being so positionedthat a straight line passing throughthe pivots of the first link is at an angle to a straight line passing through the pivots of the second link for all normal positions of the door, said first link being furthermore so positioned that a straight line joining the pivots of said link passes over the axis of said hinge when the door is moved through its normal opening range, means'for biasing said second link about its pivot to said cabinet in a direction to place said first link under tension at all positions of the door, and a stop engaging said first link at a point spaced from its ends to limit movement of the door beyond its normal range.

4. In a refrigerating cabinet having an access opening, a door for said opening, a hinge connecting said door to said cabinet, a first link pivoted at one end to said door at a point remote from said hinge, a second link pivoted at one end to-the other end of said first link and at its other end to said cabinet, said two links being so posiend of said link in a manner to close said door when the same is in said first position and to 7 open said door wider when the door is in said second position, means for guiding the movement of the other end of said link along a fixed path tioned that a straight line passing through the pivots of the first link is at an angle to a straight line passing through the pivots of the second linkfor all normal positions of the door, said first link being furthermore so positioned that a straight line joining the pivots of said link passes over the axis of said hinge when the door is moved through its normal opening range, said link being so bowed that no portion thereof passes said axis when said door is so moved, means for biasing said second link about its pivot to said cabinet in a direction to place said first link under tension at all positions of the door. and a stop engaging said first link at a point spaced from its ends to limit movement of the door beyond its normal range.

o. In a refrigerator cabinet having an access opening and a door for said opening, a'hinge connecting said door to said cabinet, said door being movable into first and second open posif tions, a linkpivoted at one end to said door at a point remote from the axis of said hinge and movable upon-opening and closing of said door, a tension spring connected to the other end of saidlink in a manner to close said door when the same is in said first position and to open said door widerwhen the door is in said second position, an arm for guiding the movement of the other end 01' said link along a fixed path, said arm extending at substantially a right angle to the direction of movement of said link, one end of said arm being pivoted to said other end of said link and the other end of said arm being engaged by'a pivot which is fixed with respect to the cabinet, and a stop adapted to engage a portion of said link spaced from said other end to limit the rotation of said link about said other end, thereby limiting the opening of said door.

6. In a refrigerator cabinet having an access opening and a door for said opening, a hinge connecting said door to said cabinet, said door being movable into first and second open positions, a link pivoted at one end to said-door at a point remote from the axis of said hinge and movable upon opening and closing of said door, a tension spring connected to the other end of said link in a manner to close said door when the same is in said first position and to open said door wider when the door is in said second position, means for guiding the movement of the other end of said link along a fixed path, said means including a member fixed with respect to said cabinet and having a slot formed therein extending in the general direction of the movement of said link, and a pin carried by said other end 01' said link and engaging said slot, and a stop adapted to engage a portion of said link spaced from said other end to limit the rotation of said link about said other end, thereby limiting the opening of said door.

WALTER PEGLOW. 

